Ben Shelton's loss against Jannik Sinner at the quarterfinals of Wimbledon was condemned by fans, as the American showed a similar pattern from his past losses. He had a strong start, but kept lacking the mental edge and eventually had nothing more to offer than his signature blazing serves.
Shelton, in the fourth round of this year's French Open, lost to Carlos Alcaraz in a similar fashion. In that match as well, the 22-year-old showcased some strong backhands and played strength-to-strength on baseline exchanges, but seemingly gave up to the Spaniard.
About a month later, as he lost 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-4 to an injury-stricken Sinner, fans couldn't help but notice the similarity and were at a loss for words at his defeat. Some were critical of his performance, while others empathised with his 'bad luck' and showed disappointment.
Here are some of the fan reactions:
"Ben Shelton is the most talented untalented player," wrote a fan.
"Him being in the top 10 just by serving well is a miracle in itself. his returns are insanely bad," a fan stated.
"What a disappointing performance by Shelton," posted another.
"Ben-please start working on how to beat these top ten players by coming off the baseline. Your shots are not accurate enough for that. These players can play the long game and then you make a mistake. Always tight for the first set and then it’s over," wrote another in fury.
"When is he gonna win a tournament?" wondered another.
Shelton hasn't been able to win a single match against the Italian since their first meeting at the 2023 Shanghai Masters.
Jannik Sinner applauds Ben Shelton on his performance

Jannik Sinner spoke highly of Ben Shelton after securing a dominant victory to book a spot in the semifinals of Wimbledon. The American sailed past Alex Bolt, Rinky Hijikata, Marton Fucsovics and Lorenzo Sonego, but failed to defeat the mighty Italian in the fiery duel.
After his win, Sinner complimented him on his form and expressed his wish to continue playing such tough matches against him. During the on-court interaction, he said:
"Playing against him is always difficult — you get chances, but he serves very well, as we saw in the last game. We’ve played each other more often now, and we’re getting to know each other a bit better. I’m really looking forward to these kinds of battles in the future."
Taylor Fritz is now the only American in the run for the men's singles title at Wimbledon.